New Delhi: Authorities in the smog-ridden New Delhi on Sunday extended an emergency school closure by a week, with no signs of improvement in the megacity's choking levels of pollution.
Every year, ahead of Diwali, Delhi is blanketed in acrid smog, primarily blamed on stubble burning by farmers in the neighbouring agrarian states.
The city is regularly ranked as one of the most polluted on the planet, with its annual smog blamed for hundreds of thousands of premature deaths each year.
The air quality on Sunday morning once again plunged to 'severe plus' as a thick haze engulfed the city, while the minimum temperature was recorded at 15.8 degree Celsius, one notch above the season's normal.
The relative humidity was recorded 96 per cent, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
The air quality index (AQI) deteriorated from 415 at 4 pm on Saturday to 460 at 7 am on Sunday. (An AQI between 0-50 is considered 'good', 51-100 'satisfactory', 101-200 'moderate', 201-300 'poor', 301-400 'very poor' and 401-450 'severe'. An AQI above 450 falls in the 'severe plus' category.)
"As pollution levels continue to remain high, primary schools in Delhi will stay closed till November 10," Delhi state's education minister Atishi posted on X.
Secondary schools "are being given the option of shifting to online classes" added Atishi after days of high pollution levels.
Severe smog levels are expected to persist for several more weeks.
Levels of the most dangerous PM2.5 particles -- so tiny they can enter the bloodstream -- reached 570 micrograms per cubic metre on Sunday according to IQAir, nearly 40 times the daily maximum recommended by the World Health Organization.
A Lancet study in 2020 attributed 1.67 million deaths to air pollution in India during the previous year, including almost 17,500 in the capital.
And the average city resident could die nearly 12 years earlier than expected due to air pollution, according to an August report by the University of Chicago's Energy Policy Institute.
Uncertainty over World Cup match
The air pollution has shrouded the World Cup clash between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in doubt and it remains to be seen if the health of the players takes precedence over the contest, here on Monday.
While Sri Lanka decided to stay indoors on Saturday, Bangladesh braved hazardous conditions to train last evening, wearing masks at the Feroz Shah Kotla. They had cancelled their opening training session on Friday due to poor-quality air.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has made it clear that a call on the future of the match will be taken only on game day when the match officials assess the air quality on Monday.
(Inputs from AFP, PTI)
